Latour, B. The pasteurization of France.pdf

7/26/2019 Latour, B. The pasteurization of France.pdf

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Thz

F

L

l Al S J L

Havad nivesiy PessCambidge Massausesand Lndn England


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Coriht 19 b the Pesident and Feows of Harvard ColeeA rihts eserved

Printed in the United States of America10 9 7 6 5 4 3

riina ublished as Les microbes: guere et paix suivi de iductions,coiht 194 Editions A. M. Mtaii Paris.

Transation of this book has been aided b a ant from theGeoes ur Charitabe and Educationa Tut.

Fist Harard Universit Pess aerback edition 1993

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

atou Buno.[Microbes EnishThe asteuization of Fance / Buno atour ; tanslated b Aan Sheridan

and John aw. cm.Rev. tanslation of: es microbes : uere et aix ; suivi de

Irucons.Biblioah: .Incudes index.Contents: Wa and eace of micobesIreductions.ISBN 067465760 (ib. bd. : alk. ae) (cloth)ISBN 0674657616 (ae1 MicrobiooFranceHisto19th centur. 2. Microbioo

Socia asectsFrance 3. Pasteu ouis 122195. I atouBuno. Irducons. Enlish. 19. II. iteQR22.F313 19

3065/0944dc19 2670CIP


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T ihel erres an t all thse h are rssnhis rthest assae


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Acknowledgments

The st pat f this bk "Wa and Peae f Mibes wastanslated by Alan Sheidan and the send pat "Iedutinswas tanslated by hn Law. The English vesins wee then e-vised and expanded by me. I thank hn Law f his patiene andthe Ele Natinal Supieue des Mines f Pais f its suppt

BL


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Contents

. W MbInduin Maeials and Mehds

Sng Mibes and Weak Hygieniss Yu Wi Be aseurs Mibes Mediine a Las

Tansiin

Induin

m Weakness Peny Sigis

nhplgis. Ieduin "The Sienes

BibligaphyesiguesInde

9

6

8769

9677


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Part One

War and Peace

of Microbes


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Intrductin

Materials andMethods

Fom Wa Machines to Wa and Peace

n tbe 6, 1812 Kutuzv geneal f the Russian tps wn amaj battle in Tautin ve the Grane Arme led by Naplen Atleast this was the impessin gatheed in Saint Petesbug by the zawh ffeed Kutuzv a diamnd sta his hief f staff Benningsendiamnds an a hunded thusand ubles in ash and pmtint many f his fes It was als the impessin gathee by theenh wh tk thi bief enunte with the Cssaks f lvDenissv as a maj defeat Tlsty wh wites abut the battle in

ar an eae is nt quite sue that it tk plae at all He is suehwee that Kutuzv did nt want t ght it; athe he tied tdelay it f seveal weeks "Despite all his suppsed pwe his in-tellet his expeiene and his knwledge f men Kutuzv uldn lnge estain the inesapable mve fwad and gave the def what he egaded as useless and mishievusgave his assentthat is t the amplished fats (p 1175)

Even afe aepting the fait ampli and signing the mmand


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Wa and eace of cobes

Kutuzov kept stopping his oops evey hunded feet fo theeqatesof an hou! "The dispositions as dawn by To wee pefetly sat-isfatoy ust as fo the battle of usteitz it was statedthough

not in Geman this timethat the st oumn wil poeed this wayand that way the seond oumn wil poeed to this pae and thatpae and so on . . Eveything had been admiaby thought out asdispositions always ae and as is always the ase not a singe oumneahe its objetive at the appointed time (p 1176). "Thats howthings always ae with usth t befoe the hose! (p 118).Indeed no one duing the batte knew fo sue whih was the hose

and whih the at the ation ontinualy difting away fom whatwas intended. n tobe 2 afte Kutuzov had been foed to atagainst his bette judgment his signed ode kept being diveted. Theyoung ofe who held it got ost and ould not nd the geneas;eventuay he aived late at night at a mansion between the fontlines whee to his supise the hgh staf wee aousing When inthe oning Kutuzov got up to ght a batte he did not want to ght

he disoveed to his fuy that not a single soldie was pepaed. Noofe had eeived any mahing odes n the whoe howeveTolstoy onsideed that the battlethough not planned not deidedupon and not foughtwas a suess fom the Russias point ofview "It would be difult and even impossible to imagine any issueof that batte moe oppotune than its atual outome. With a minimum of effot and at the ost of tiing losses despite amost unex-amped muddle the most impotan esults of the whole ampaignwee obtained (p. 118)

What is this tak about attibution of esponsibiity multitude ofpeople and missing odes? e we not talking about stategytheepitome of panned ationand about miitay hains of ommandthe most odeed system of dietion thee is? Indeed we ae butTolstoy has fove subveted the notion of eade stategy and hainof ommand "If in the aounts given us by histoians espeia

enh histoians we nd hei was and battles onfoming to peiously pesibed pans the only onlusion to be dwn is that theiaounts ae not tue (p 118)

So what onlusion should we daw when we hea histoians es-peiay enh histoians desibe not the vitoy defeat of Na-poeon but the vitoies of Pasteu that othe enh genius ove themiobes? n une 2 1881, in the ittle village of Pouillyeot in

Beaue Louis Pasteu defeated a teibe disease of sheep and ows


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noducon

alled anhax A fiend f Paseus gives his aun "Puillyle- is as famus day as any he baleeld Mnsieu Paseu anew Apll was n afaid delive ales me eain f suess

han ha hild f pey wuld be In a pgam laid u in advaneeveyhing ha wa happen was annuned wih a ndene hasimply lked like audaiy f hee he al was pnuned bysine iself ha is say i was he expessin f a lng seies fexpeimens f whih he unvaying nsany f he esuls pvedwih abslue eainy he uh f he law disveed (Buley 1 88,p 9) The saegy was neived eniely in advane; Paseu n-

ed i and had evey deail gued u; i wen ading planfllwing a si de f mmand fm Paseu he sheep byway f his assisans and he aeakes llwing Tlsys adviewe an say ha su an aun has be false We d n knwwha happened bu we an be sue ha a muliude f peple kpa in he w and ha a suble anslain "dif f heiinenins led hem he lile village in de wah vainaed

and unvainaed sheep wihsand essWe wuld like siene be fee f wa and pliis A leas wewuld like make deisins he han hugh mpmise difand uneainy We wuld like feel ha smewhee in addiin he hai nfusin f pwe elains hee ae ainal ela-ins In addiin Tauin we wuld have Puillyle Su-unded by vilene and dispuain we wuld like see leaingswhehe islaed nneed fm whih wuld emege inn-veible effeive ains T his end we hae eaed in a singlemvemen pliis n ne side and siene ehnsiene n hehe (Shapin and Shaffe 1985). The Enlighenmen is abu ex-ending hese leaings unil hey ve he wld

ew peple sill believe in suh an Enlighenmen f a leas neeasn Wihin hese enlighened leangs we have seen develpinghe whle asenal f agumenain vilene and pliis Insead fdiminishing his asenal has been vasly enlaged Was f sieneming n p f was f eligin ae nw he age "Thanaayis he wd ha Mihel Sees had fge name u disappin-men in he edeeming viue f siene ew peple sill believe inhe adven f he Enlighenmen bu nbdy has ye eveed fmhis lss f faih N believe in i is feel ha we have beenhwn bak in he Dak Ages

We ann un n episemlgy ge us ve his disappin


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6 W nd ece of Mcobes

men. Alhugh episemlgies hae aied e ime hey hae al-ways been wa mahines defending siene agains is enemiessin he gd ld days agains eligin hen agains sme f he illusins

geneaed by muh pimism in siene iself sill lae againshe danges ha aliaian saes epesen f he aunmy f feesieni inquiy and nally agains he abuses f siene disedby pliiians pae ineess These plemial esins f whasene is and shuld be ae nenien gh he babaians andkeep hem a ams lengh; hey ae f n aail f desibing whaa plemi is and hw siene and wa hae me be s inemngled.

Episemlgiss like geneals ae always ne wa lae. The b-lem is n lnge defend siene agains eligin abuses bwn-shis deius pae ineess. The pblem we nw fae is undesand ha bsue mixue f wa and peae in whih laba-ies ae nly ne sue f siene and pliis amng many sues.Agnsiism in maes f siene is he nly way sa wihubeing apped n ne side f he many was being fugh by he

guadians f sienes bdes.Een if few peple sill beliee i he naie iew uageuslydefended by episemlgiss ha ses siene apa fm nise anddisde hes wuld sill like pide a ainal esin f si-eni saegy ffe leau explanains f hw i deelps andwhy i wks. They wuld like aibue denie ineess hesial gups ha shape siene endw hem wih explii bund-aies and ensu a si hain f mmand ging fm ma-suues he ne gain f siene. Een if we hae gie upu beliefs in siene sme f us sill wish eain he hpe haanhe siene ha f siey and hisy mih explain siene.Alas as Tlsy shws us we d n knw hw desibe wa andpliis any bee han we knw hw explain siene. T ffewellneied Mahiaellian saegies explain siene is as mean-ingless as wie "Die ese Clnne mashie die zweie Clnnemashie. u blem in simulaneusly desibing was f si-ene eligin and pliis mes fm he fa ha we hae n ideahw desibe any wa wiu addig i he esul f a sienesaegy hisy silgy helgy enmis.

T undesand simulaneusly siene and siey we hae de-sibe wa and eae in a diffeen way wihu useles waginganhe wa belieing ne again ha siene ffes a miaulus

peae f mind. Appealing an example fm an ealie peid migh


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noucon 7

hep us nd a way u T eesabish demy in he ubed imef he eigius was Spinza had beme agnsi as fa as hebibia ex was nened and devise new ways f undesanding

he shking mixue f evangeia messages and massaes His newye f bibia exegesis in his Tratatus Thelilitius pins a suin diffeen fm hse ffeed by beiefs in eigin hesienes (be hey naua sia). Hee I dea wih sieni wasby using esues ffeed by a exegesis f sieni exs. My "Ta-aus SieniPiius insead f eay dividing siene fmhe es f siey easn fm fe makes n apii disinin

amng he vaius aies ha ae summned in imes f wa Reg-nizing he simiaiy amng aies I ffe n apii deniin f whais sng and wha is weak. I sa wih he assumpin ha eveyhingis invved in a eain f fes bu ha I ave n iea a a fpeisey wha a fe is

T make his new ak pefey ea I ake i wie In he spa f he bk I sudy a seies f exs aken fm a famus hisia

bae. In he send pa I wk u he pinipes shw hwhe piisieni mixues an be sudied in he same way. Tuse udaed ems he s pa f he bk is me empiia hesend pa me heeia T us me apppiae wds hes pa peains he ieay gene f sigy sia hisyhe send ha f phisphy. Insead f dividing he eam inhse wh empiiay sudy siene in he making and hse whaim guad he bdes esabish he fundains f siene Imbine he w and i is gehe ha hey shud sand fa

How re We t Dispute an Indisputabe Science?

I has aways seemed ha if a siene wee n independen f piissmehing wud be missing and he sky wud fa n u heads Tshw ha he sky hds up pefey we n is wn we have be

abe pve in a paiua sieni disipine ha beief in hesienes ike he d beief in Gd is a "supeuus hyhesis. Wehave give evidene a "sien and "siey ae bh expainedme adequaey by an anaysis f he eains amng fes andha hey beme muuay inexpiabe and paque when made sand apa.

The ny way demnsae a pf ha migh in nse{is

ake an exampe ha is as fa emved as pssibe fm he hesis I


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8 Wa and eace of Mcobes

am tying t pve We have t take a adia unhallengeable si-enti evlutin ne that has pfundly tansfmed siety andyet wes it vey itte Thee ae a numbe f easns f believing

that thee is n bete exampe than that f the evutin intduedint mediine bilgy and hygiene by the wk f Luis PasteuFist this evutin tk pla at the high pint f the sienti

eligin Indeed f sme deades between the FanPussian Waand Wld Wa ne it seemed easnable t expet the sienes teiminate plitia dispute Send n neexept extme ynisan dubt the value f Pasteus disveies t mediine A f the

the tehnlgial nquests have thei embitteed itis and mal-ntentsnt t mentin thse suffeing fm adiatinbut t pe-vent hiden fm dying fm teible diseases has neve been seenas anything the than an advantageexept f use by the mi-bes f thse diseases p t u wn time bigy has deived itspestige fm its inluene n health (and mst f its inme fm thesial seuity system) Thid in n the sienti tehngia

innvatin has thee been s sht a ute between fundamental e-seah and its apid faeahing appliatins muh s that it iseasnable t wnde whethe tis is nt the nly exame whihhas been exaggeated int a genea law Al the the sienes eitheinuene ny setins f siety quie suh a lngtem media-tin that in the end indusy the militay aways intevenes Futhand last it seems impssible deny tht Pasteus apid suesseswee due t the appliatin at ast f sienti methd in an aea thatha been ef t lng t pepe ping in the dak Mst peplewuld agee that with Pasteu the media at beame a siene ThePasteu bitzkieg in stiking ntast t the physiians and sugensblind stugge against an invisibe enemy eveals a nvining si-enti manne fee f mpmise tinkeing and ntvesy Insum it is an indisputable ase and and theefe a pefet exmplef my agument

But what des "explaining this example mean? T expain desnt mean t nne the anaysis t the "inuenes exeted "nPasteu t the "sial nditins that "aeeated "slweddwn his suesses T d s wud ne again be t lte the ntentf a siene keeping ny its sia "envinment ust as we anntexplain a myth a itual a ustm nneted with hunting simpyby epying epeating it s we annt explain a siene by paa-

phasing its esults. In the wds t explain te siene f the


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noducon 9

Paseuians we mus desibe i wihu esing any he ems he ibe

Bu whee an we nd he neps he wds he ls ha will

make u explanain independen he siene unde sudy? I musadmi ha hee is n esablished sk suh neps espeiallyn in he salled human sienes paulaly silgy Inveneda he same peid and by he same peple as sienism silgy ispweess undeand he skills m whih i has s lng beensepaaed he silgy he sienes I an heee say "Peme m my iends I shall deal wih my enemies i we se u

explain e sienes i may well be ha he sial sienes willsue s Wha we have d is n explain baeilgy insilgial ems bu make hse w lgi ne me uneg-nizable

In de make my ase I seem be puing mysel in an indeensible psiin I shall y explain he leas nvesial episdein he hisy he sienes wihu bypassing is ehnial nen

and wihu eusing he help ha he sial sienes mgh like e The ndiins ailue a leas ae lea enugh I shall ailin hee ases i his analysis bemes a silgizing eduin asiene is "sial ndiins i i es a saisay analysis e appliains Paseuism bu n sme is ehnial nen i i has euse nins and ems belnging he lkle he peple sudied (ems suh as "p "eay "demn-sain "ealiy and "evluin)

Method fO Composng U Wold

Wha will we alk abu? Whih as will we begin wih? Whainenins and wha inees will we aibue hem? The mehdI use des n equie us deide in advane n a lis as andpssible ains I we pen he sieni lieaue he ime we

nd sies ha dene us wh ae he main as wha happens hem wha ials hey undeg We d n have deide uselves wha makes up u wld wh ae he agens "eally aingin i wha is he qualiy he ps hey impse upn ne anheN d we have knw in advane wha is impan and wha isnegligible and wha auses shis in he bale we bseve aund usSemii sudies he exs he me will d he jb intere-

nitin us Take insane his aile by Tyndall "Cnside


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Wa and eace of Mcobes

all he ills ha hese loaing pariles have inflied on mankind, inhisori and prehisori imes This desrive aion is oniningoday and onined for enries, wiho e slighes sspiion as

o is ases being permied o he sik world We have been srkby invisible sorges, we have fallen ino ambshes, and i is onlyoday ha he ligh of siene is reahing hose errible oppressors(1 877, p 800)

Wiho any oher prespposiions, we an ake his senene asor beginning and sdy i wih he ools offered by semiois Tyndalldenes aors Are hey hman or nonhman? Nonhman Wha do

hey wan? vil Wha do hey do? They lie in wai ine when? inehe beginning of ime Wha has happened? An even hey havebeme isible Wha has made hem visible? iene, anoher aor,whih ms in rn be reorded and dened by is performanes

The fa ha we do no know in advane wha he world is madep of is no a reason for refsing o make a sar, bease othsoryellers seem o know and are onsanly dening he aors ha

srrond hemwha hey wan, wha ases hem, and he ways inwhih hey an be weakened or linked ogeher These sryellersaribe ases, dae evens, endow eniies wih qaliies, lassifyaors The analys does no need o know more han hey; he hasonly o begin a any poin, by reording wha eah aor says of heohers He shold no ry o be reasonable and o impose some pre-deermined soiology on he someimes bizarre inerdeniion offeredby he wriers

sdied The only ask of he analys is o follow he

ransformaions ha he aors onened in he sories are ndergoingFor insane, an anonymos ediorial, wrien js afer he Frano-Prssian War, saes I is siene and he sieni spiri ha haveonqered s iho a omplee resrreion of he grea Frenhsiene of former ies, here is no possible salvaion (1872, p 102)

Is his an ideologial rendering of wha really ased he Frenhdefea? Is i a false represenaion of wha happened? Is his a

pre expression of lae nineeenhenry sienism? The analysdoes no have o know In 1872 he ediorialis aribed defea oa lak of siene This aribion is enogh for s o be able followhe dri a work in he ediorial Yo wan revenge? asks he wrierFor ha, yo need soldiers In order o have soldiers, yo need healhyFrenhmen B wha is i ha wahes over healh? Mediine Andwha does mediine iself depend on? The sienes And wha are he

sienes in rn made p of? Money And where does money ome


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Inroducon

fom? The sae bdge B paliamenaians ae igh now disssingsbsidies fo eseah The s spae hose who sho he lodes,wies he edioialis. Hene his advie wie o yo depies, so

ha he govenmen will no he bdge, so ha hee will belaboaoies, so ha hee will be sienes, so ha hee will be med-iine, so ha . so ha . . and so ha we an weak o evegea las. We do no have o know wha his wie eally wans anymoe han we have o know wha he geneals sonding Napoleono Kzov eally woe in hei mahing odes. I is enoghha he wie has made p his edioial in sh a ay ha a eade

who wans evenge wih all his hea an now be eqesed o peiionhis depy agains bdge s. This movemen of transtn is enoghfo We had o eyes xed on he ble line of he Vosges Nowwe have hem iveed on he shee of pape aging ha Alsae willbe won bak mre quly by means of his passage hogh hesieni bdge.

The mehod I se hee onsiss simply in following all hese ans-

laions, difs, and divesions as hey ae made by he wies of hepeiod. Despie y seah fo ompliaion, I ol nd no moe hanhis simple mehod emiois povides me wih a disipline, b sinei is oo meilos o ove a peiod of fy yeas and hosands ofpages, he semioi mehod is hee limied o he inedeniion ofaos and o he hains of anslaions.?

I apply hese simple ools o he analysis of hee peiodials heRevue entque Annales e l'nsttut asteur and Cnurs al The Revue entque a geneal weekly eview fonded in hemidnineeenh eny and wien by sieniss hemselves fo a wideedaed pbli, falls somewhee beween ent Ameran and hegenealinees pages of ene I ead hogh he whole of heonal fom 1870, he yea of Fne's defea, o 1919, he dae ofhe evenge b also of a eible defea a he hands of inenza Idid no onne myself o a paila siene b eoded all heefeenes made by he ahos o diseases, biology, healh, Pase,miobes, doos, and hgiene Fo eah of he eevan ailes Iskehed he inedeiion of he aos and he anslaion hains,wiho ying o dene a pioi how he aos wee made p andanked Wiho being exhasive, I neveheless eoded he geamajoiy of he allsions, howve isan, o Pase and his miobeshogho he pages of he Revue

The Annales e lnsttut asteur fonded in 1887, is he ofial


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Wa and eace of Mcobes

sieni ornal of he Insi Paser In his ase all ariles from1887 o 1919 were reaed and odied aording o a single spei-aion ha was also borrowed from semiois Unlike he sdy of

he Revue his one involved reading he omplee orps and hsoffered a preise idea of he ofial sieni op of he InsiThe Cnurs ial a periodial pblished by a Frenh medialnion was sdied only for he rial years 1 8851905. In his aseI reorded only he explii alsions o Paserism wiho ryingas in he Revue o rerae he pah of implii ranslaions as well

ine he domenary maerial is limied o hese hree ornals

my effor o explain baeriology and Frenh soiey simlaneoslymay be dged solely on his basis. Paser said he old no laimhe honor of being a srgeon; I anno laim ha of being a hisorian.This nderaking does no prpor o add anyhing o he hisory ofsiene sill less o he hisory of he nineeenh eny I se hisoryas a brain sienis ses a ra ing hrogh i in order o followhe mehanisms ha may allow me o ndersand a one he ntent

of a siene and is ntext For his reason he presenaion of hdomenar maerials does no follow he hisorial pah b raherhe nework of assoiaions ha slowly make p he Paserian worldFornaely he period offers s a grea many onrol grops harea differenly o Paser's enerprise. Hygieniss biologiss sr-geons saniary enneers veerinary srgeons physioloss like CladeBernard medial doors and miliary doors as well as berlosisholera diphheria eans yellow fever rabies and he plage allmove aording o differen pahs offering s he sor of ineresingonfsion ha Tolsoy desribes in he bales of his book. Here Ionras he differen onrol grops wih one anoher so ha eahargmen abo onex or onen an be replaed by a new linkagebewee soiey nd is sienes.


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Cater

Srong Microbes andWeak

Hygieniss

Is It ecessay to Spea of "Pasteu o Even of Pasteu?

The onerexample ha have hosen o sdy is so obvioslyinonroverible bease of he way i is habially formlaed herevolion inroded ino mediine y Paser. Wha we have hereis an aribion of ase and ime We migh also say ha i represensa dominan poin of viewa poin of view ha was herefore vi-orios in a bale fogh wih oher agens prsing oher aims aoher imes. Do we have o speak of Paser when we speak of hygiene

and mediine in he lae nineeenh enry? I is no immediaelyobvios ha we o. Pasers posiion in his is raher like Napoleonsin ha reaise on poliial philosphy whih Tolsoy wroe nderhe name of ar an eae

n ha book, Tolsoy smmons p ndreds of haraers o givedph o wha for him is he essenial qesion Wha an one mando? Wha does a grea man like Napoleon or Kzov really do?

akes Tolsoy some ei hdred pages o give bak o he mlide


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Wa and Peace of Mcobes

h ffivnss ha h hisorians of his nry pad in h viror gnis of a fw mn. Tosoy sdd and h whol of rnhisory sppors his horis as o h raiv imporan of gramn in rlaion o h ovrall movmns ha ar rprsnd orappropriad by a fw ponymos grs. This is r a as whrpolitiians ar onrnd. Whn w ar daling wih sientists wsi admir h gra gnis and vir of on man and oo rarlyssp h imporan of h fors ha mad him gra. W mayadmi ha in h hnologia or sini lds a mlid of poplis nssary o iuseh disovris mad and h mahins invnd.

B srly no o ra hm! Th gra man is aon in his aboraoryaon wih his onps and h rvolionizs h soi arond himby h powr of his mind aon. Why is i so dif o gain a-pan in h as of h gra mn of sin for wha is aknas sfvidn in h as of gra sasmn?

If Tolsoy is indignan agai h Napoloni hagiography whaar w o say of h aribs ha h Frnh hav givn o Lois

Pasr from h os? H did vryhig; h rgnrad rvol-ionizd rad h nw mdiin h nw biology h nw hygin.Landozy wris Nvr wi a nry hav workd for h nrywhos dawn yo will soon b wloming as did h nry of Pas-r (1885, p. 107) . is no givn o vrybody o bom a nryany mor han i is o hav ons nam on h prinipa sr of vown and vilag in Fran or o prvn popl from spiing o

prsad hm o dig drains o g vainad or o ra srohr-apy. Pasr did vryhing by his own powr or a las hroghh powr of his idas. h a viw is no mor nabl an is hsamn ha Kzov dfad Napolon. Of all gra mn i msb said Th only onpion apabl of xplaining h movmnof pops is ha of a for ommnsra wih h whol movmnof h popls. Y o sppy his onpion varios hisorians assmfors of nirly diffrn kinds al of whih ar inommnsrawih h movmn obsrvd. Th noion of powr b i ha ofidas or of poliial lo is on of hs misonpions o ongas hisoris ar wrin of spara individals whhr Casars Alx-andrs Lhrs or Volairs and no h isoris of absolyhos who ak par in an v i is impossibl no o asribo individal mn a for whih an ompl ohr mn o dir hiraiviy oward a rain nd. And h only onpion of sh akind known o hisorians is h ida of powr Tolsoy 1879, p.1409)


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Stong Mcobes and Weak Hgensts

If he whole of rope ransformed is ondiions of exisene ahe end of he las enry, we shold no aribe he efay ofhis exraordinary leap forward o he grea genis of a single man.

Ye we an ndersand how he followed ha movemen, aompaniedi, someimes preded i, and hen was offered sole responsibiliy fori (a leas in Frane). Paser's onemporaries, he Paserians, andFrenh hisorians were no naware of his problem They all admiedha Paser did no do everyhing alone, b hey qikly wenbak on his admission by spposing ha Paser did everyhing po-enially or ha he res was o be fond in Paser's ideas in potentia

There was a man, says Boley, one of Paser's hagiographers,and o ell o he grea hings ha I have o relae, I shall borrowone of Bosse's famos periods, here was a man of inredible dephof mind (1881, p. 546). Ideed, we are emped o fall down on orknees in admiraion, sine he rapid, omplee ransormaion of asoiey is aribed o he hogh of one man Are yo noonfonded, Trla exlaims, b he fore of he genis who old

win sh bales? ( 1 895, p. 170) . Yes, of orse we are onfondedif we onfse he fore of a man wih ha attiute o him; if weonfse Paser wih Paser, whom from now on I will plaebewee qoaion marks so as no o onfse him wih his homonym.hy shold we sill do for Paser's genis wha we no longer dofor Napoleon's or Rohshild's? If we nd i easy enogh o dealwih h Rssian ampaign in erms of soiology or eonomis, whyare we so relan o apply soiology o Paserian baeriology?

The reason for his hesiaion is simple The Frenh analyss do noeven hesiae. For hem here is nohing o analyze Indeed, hey almosinvariably sppose ha where siene is onerned, he diffsion ofan idea, a gesre, a ehniqe, poses no parilar problem; only heonsiion of he idea or gesre is problemai. Their idea of soieyis borrowed fom lassial mehanis ehniqes, endowed wi in-eria, a resisane o foe, always reain ha propery, and an only

lose i in he orse of sessiv shoks. Wih sh a model, we msaribe o Paser's aboraory he totality of he fore and regardas iner masses all he soial grops ha are apable only of rans-miing he fore o absorbing par of i (i is said of hem ha heyadap o progress or resis) B i ms be learly ndersoodha in soial physis here is no law of ineria To onvine someonea an experimen has seeded, ha a eniqe is effeive, ha

a proof is rly desive, here ms be moe than one acto An ideaor a praie anno move from A o B solely by he for ha A gives


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6 Wa and eace of Mcobes

i; B ms seize i and move i f o explain he diffsion of Paser'sideas we had noing more han he fore of Paser and his ollab-oraors hose ideas wold never have lef he walls of he Eole

Normale laboraory and wold no even have enteed hem An ideaeven an idea of genis even an idea ha is o save millions of peoplenever moves of is own aord reqires a fore o feh i seizepon i for is own moives move i and oen ransform i

This vision of hings poses no parilar problem exep ha iregards all he sies where a parilar praie is diffsed as made ofaonomos agens raher han of iner masses passively ransmiinga fore Tolsoy has o reonsie Rssian soiey and he aonomyof all his haraers in order o ake from Caesar he hings ha areno Caesars imilarly freedom of aion ms be given bak o allhe agens of Frenh soiey in order o deompose Paser's efayHere lies he problem o make a socoloy of baeriology one needsa scety

hen began o read he Revue centque afer he defea of80, was srprised o observe ha lile is said of Paser and even

less of his ideas He is no ye he ineressor ha he wold laerbeome His name is no ye assoiaed wih anyhing relaing odisease Oher hings are disssed and he evidene presened doesno ome from his laboraory.

The Indisputabe Conict between Heath and Weath

Alhogh he ahors of he Revue rarely speak of Paser or dissshis ideas hey view one idea as so indispable ha i beomes hepremise for all he argmens o be fond in e Revue from he rsnmber of he new series begn s aer he siege of Paris o helas nmber sdied in Deember This idea whih hey rgardas overwhelmingly niversally selfeviden is he rgen need forregeneraion

is o he doors ha a large par of he work of regeneraionfalls if sh work an ever be arried o for he rs ondiion offore is he nmber and vigor of he izens wries Algave direorof he Revue (8, p 0) From ly 8 on Paser laims hewas obilizing siene for he re of he Prssian anker (8,pp ) was no only Frane hmiliaed and defeaed hahad o b regeneraed; i was aso mankind in general and moreparilarly he rban masses n 8 okes sms p he sae of


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Song Mcobes and Weak Hgenss 7

he new Biish mediine, aleady highly develoed, and denes henew deal of poliial aion Insead of aging ove piniples andseeking h absole, his people [he Biish, gifed wih a geapaial sense, is painsakingly eeing he pops ha sppo heold soial edie and is making i inhabiable fo he new poplaions(8 p. 4)

We old no hve a bee deniion of he pogam of efomsof soial no poliial efoms, he aho insiss on poiningoin whih s pbli mediine and hen he biologial sienesha will enable i o advane play an impoan ole. okes onines

Wha an oppone momen o apply all hose sieni foes opeenaive mediine nd onseqenly in he soial ode! Thee aehndeds of millions of sbjes of he Cown of England, whosedomesi habis seem o be saely above hose of he lowe animals,and an enomos eld of misey, physial and moal degadaion,and a onsan soe of desion ha may exend o he onnesof he eah and en bak agains he Wes, whee he nobles ae

of men is o be fond (8 p. 0)Many hisoians have insised on his obsession of he ime wihhe egeneaion of man. I sevs as a pemise fo all he ailes inhe Revue no only on mediine b also, ove he yeas, on gym-nasis, olonizaion, inenaional ade, edaion, he eonomy,wafe, and above all, he depoplaion of Fane, whih Rihe allshe geaes peil ha he Fenh naion has eve had o fae, a any

peiod in is hisoy. All he ailes epea he view in one way oanohe ha wha we need ae song men The s onen ofsaesmen oday is he eonsiion, he eoganizaion of hmanlife. The independene, he vey exisene of he ony in he neafe, is a sake (Deaisne 8 p. 9). I shold be sessedha all hese qoaions ae aken fom ahos who ae exemelydbios abo onagionis heoies, have hadly head of asepsia,and ae wiing some feen yeas ere he slighes appliaion ofbaeiology o hman mediine.

B wha is his movemen iself based on? This qesion, aisedby hisoians, does no have o be answeed by he semioi mehodI have hosen o follow. ine all he wies ake his basi linkbeween healh and wealh as seled, sine all of hem ake hygieneas he addessee of all hei ailes, and sine his haae wasonsied befoe he peiod nde onsideaion, I old move on

and begin wi he ipion of he miobe. Fonaely, i is possible


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8 Wa and eace of cobes

to sket te akdop aganst w te wole Pasteuan dama-tugy unfolds Ts sket an e made n two suessve stages: test pesents an nfastutue tat explans te enegy aumulated

dung te peod; ut te seond lts anoe sene, anotegoup of sentsts wo ave aleady pepaed te gound fo teaval of te Pasteuans.

Fo tose wo annot aept any stoy unless t as an "nfa-stutue, t s possle to gve te "ause o te wole Pasteuanadventue n smple tems, Faze sums up ts motve foe of tepeod, te "pmum ovens tat unleased all tose eneges ut

was tself moed y notng and dsusse y noody. Te ontetween alt ad wealt eaed su a eakng pont n te md-entuy tat weal was teatened y ad ealt. "Te onsumptonof uman lfe as a omustle fo te poduton of wealt led stn te Engls tes, ten n te ontnental ones, to a vetale "enegyss. Te en, as eveyone sad onstantly, wee of oo ualty.t ould not go on lke tat. Te tes ould not go on eng deatames and esspools, te poo eng weted, gnoant, ug-dden, ontagous vagaons. Te evval and extenson of explo-taon (o pospety, f you pefe) eued a etteeduated pop-ulaton and lean, ay, eult tes, wt dans, fountans, sools,paks, gymnasums, dspensaes, day nusee. By te tme tat on-es us, none of ts was ontovesal. t was e statng pont fomw yensts set out to dsove latent foes and to set up pa-tula stateges.

Te onepts of nfastutue tus egads mmense eneges aseng molzed y ts ontadon of eal and wealt tougoutEuope Su an upeaval of tes was seen not as a evoluton utas a amonzaton, n Stokes's wods, tween "natonal ealt an"natonal pospet and moalty (8, p. 0) Te favote metapo of te tme, te dffeene n potental, dened a vast enegysoue nto w all te atos of te peod ould plug temselves

n ode to advane te ones fo te next ft eas. Ts m-mense esevo of enegy was a foe of te knd emanded y ol-stoy, oe tt was ommensuate to te soal ody tself. n tsnfastutue stoy, Pasteuans ae one of te many goups tat usete sam dffeene n potental, even f te wod "Pasteu ae todesgnate n Fane te wole of ts unvesal movement of egen-eaton.

Evey tme stoans speak of an nfastutue tat an explan


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Song Mcobs and Wa Hgnss 9

te development of a siene, te soiologist of sene, devious andsuspiious, looks fo at rmr sienti pofessions ave aleadydone to eate tis vast esevoi of enegy. ften no study is available,and te soiologist as to abandon te gound and believe, like anyoneelse, in te idea of a peexistent soial ontext, at least fo te peiodad te siene e is n studying. Fotunately, Coleman as madean exellent study of te peiod just peeding mine. In tis studywe see anote goup of sientists, anote pofession, led not byPasteu but by Villem, busy eating tis famous "infastutueand tis famous onit beween Healt and ealt. Befoe te

peiod unde onsideation we do not ave a "longue due tatwould at as a ause to pus o pull te Pasteuans, but we aveVillem and is fiends onstituting, tou te new pofession ofsienti ygiene and toug te elaboation of national statistis,a link between motali and degee of wealt Tis link ad also tobe eated, like te futue link betwee laboatoy and mediine obetween attenuated miobes and diseases. Witout te eation of

statistial bueaus and "tableaux, witout te appliation of politiaeonomy to tis soiomedial poblem, te "diffeene in potentialwould not ave existed. Te soia ontext of a siene is aely madeup of a ontext; it is most o te time made up of a prvius siene.

Hygienists, the Disputed Interpreters of Regeneration

I sall say no moe about tis "infastutue, sine it inspied teatiles wiout itself eve being disussed Yet I must say sometingabout te st tanslatos of tis geat onlit eween ealt andwealt, te ygienists. Atually, te Rvu does ot dene wo teyae. It speaks of ygiene, te "sende, as te semiotiians say, of allte ations on ealt. Te boundaies of ygiene e vague, an isvagueness is peisely wat allws its patitiones to expess moe

o less eveyones inteess and, vey soon, tose of te Pasteuians.Hee again we must not, in ou study o te texts, be moe peisetan te Rvu itself. Fo ou puposes, ygienists ae all tose woal temselves ygienists.

Hgiene in te Rvu iniqu an be dened as a sl natile, espeially a sienti one, is a little maine fo isplaingiteests, beliefs, and algning tem in su a way as to pint tead, almost inevitably, in a patiula dietin Sienti etoioften annels te eades attention in a sngle enal diretion, like


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Wr d Pece of Mcrobes

a valley uttng toug mountans. But te eto of te ygenstsdoes not possess ts geat ow. t as no ental agument. t s madeup of an aumulaton of adve, peautons, epes, opnons, sta-tsts, emedes, egulatons, anedotes, ase studes. t s, ndeed, anaumulaton. A ygenst lke Bouadat always adds, wtut su-tatng anytng at all. Te eason fo ts style, w n te teaytsm of an eale day would e alled "nvolved o "autous,s smple. llness, as dened y te ygensts, an e aused y almostanytng. Typus may e due to a otagon, ut t may also e dueto te sol, te a, oveowdng. Notng must e gnoed, notng

dsmssed. Too many auses an e found sde y sde to allow foany dente poston on te matte. Eveytng must e onsdeed."Te ole and vaety o te auses of typod make t neessay toomat tem y eually vaed and numeous means (Coln 88,p. ) t was not out of gnoane ut on te ontay out of anexess of knowledge tat te ygensts aumulated te opnons.None of tem s asolutely etan, tey admt, ut none of tem an

eally e aandoned. Bouadat makes te ngenuous admsson "do not sped my ous of sleep n ntensely olea plaes. Headvses te use of dsnfetants ut adds, "tey mut not allow us tognoe evdene tat s not undestood ut s ased on stt andepeated osevaton (88, p. 8)

To make fun of ts style would e to fal to undestand te natueof an allound omat. f anytng an ause llness, notng an e

gnoed; t s neessay to e ale to at eveywee and on eveytngat one. Te sye eets te aton planned y te ygensts. Manyof te aatests of soalled pePasteu ygene ae to e ex-planed y ts stuaton. Te yene ongesses wee, lke Boua-dat's style, an att n w eveytng was kept eause sometmet mgt ome n andy. n 86, fo nstane, te sujets undedsusson nluded wate, lfesaves, gymnasts, womens wok,"metods of developng among te laong lasses a spt of tftand te savng at, aloolsm, and wokngass ousng (Anon. 86, 400). Tese ongesses wee a atal, eause llness oulde aused y anytng and eause sentsts ad to e eady to setoff entusastally n any deton.

e onseuenes wee pedtale. Atles on yene n te Revuewee sot toug at st y an astonsng omnaton of usand dsouagement. Bot ad te same ause. Sne anytng mgtause llness, t was neessay to at upon eveytng at one, ut to


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Srog Mcrobes d Wek Hgess

at everywere is to at nowere. Sometimes te ygienists give adenition of teir siene tat is oextensive wit reaity. Tey aimto e ating on food, uranism, sexuaity, eduation, te army. Not-ing tat is uman is aien o tem. Even te uman eing is too narrowa ed tey must onern temseves aso wit air, igt, eat, water,and te soi (Tat 8, pp. 0)

But to understand everyting is to understand noting. S o te samearties revea a sense of division and aasement (Landouzy: 88,p. 00) Indeed, te fundamenta proem of e ygienists is tattis mutipiity, so sort on remedies and detais, did not protet

tem against faiure. However mu tey migt take preautionsagainst everyting and oserve everywere, disease returned, as if noxed auses oud e attriuted to it. n ea of its returns anoterause ad to e added. Te surgeon Kirmission writes, after emergingfrom tat period: "So we aumuated a te preautions of generaygiene, ut faied to remove te puruent infetion from tewards . . . In demonstrting te inaniy of a te disussions on os-

pita ygiene as a way of preventng ospita infetion, experieneneessariy ast profound disredit on te pious wises of te sur-geons (888, p. 6)

For a tese reasons it was neessary to speak of "morid spon-taneity. Tis dotrine, wi is ridiued today, orresponded per-fety to te sye, mode of ation, and fas, sine disease appearedsometimes ere, sometimes tere sometimes at one season, sometimes

at anoter sometimes respondig to remedy, sometimes spreading,ony to disappear as suddeny. Tis strange, errati eavor was wereorde y statistis, te major siene of te midnineteent entury,wi orresonded perfety to te anaysis of su impapae pe-nomena.

In view of tese proems, it was aso ogia tat any artie onontagion, on te miroe as "externa ause of disease, on e aw

tat "a miroe euas disease, soud appear so derisory. To anyargument on ontagion itsef a udding ygienist oud aways opposea undred ounterexampes. Tis disproportion etween te proemsof te gienst and te simpisti araer of te dotrines of on-tagion eps to expain ow te Pasteurians ad to transform temroe in order to onvine te ygienists. Te ygienists formedte vanguard of a uge, enturyod moement wi ad areadytransformed te Britis system of eat and wi aimed to espreading everywere in order to a on a te auses of i eat.


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Wr nd Pece of Mcrobes

But y its vey sope and amition tis movement emained weak,like an amy tying to deend a long onte y speading its oestin.

Tee was no way o onentating te movement's oes at a ewpoints only. t ould not inre e details tat it ad aumulatedo undeds o yeas, unless it uld ieaize tem in ode oimpotane. s soon as ygiene eame mode, tat is, tuned teyene tat ad peede it into "anient ygiene, it was y its vey"ligtness tat i was eoized. s Bouadat emaks ", atte eginning o tis entuy, we stove to undestand eveyting in

ygiene, today we must leave to one side a mass o useless o unpovale details (Landouzy: 88 p. 00)Was it possile to dene in advane, negatively, at exess ooe

wi, etospetively, ygiene seemed to lak? tink so. Wat wasneeded was a soue o oes to explain e astonising vaiailityo moidity, its spontaneity, and its loal aate. n ode tointeest te soial movement o wi te ygienists wee te spokesmen, a dotine was needed tat explained te vritin o te viulene in tems ompale wi e polems involved in tansomngte towns and te living envionment to wi te ygienists addevoted tei attention. Tis was not simply an "intelletual euiement. n te asene o su a oal point, all te eneges ote soial movement anslaed y te yenists wee dissipated out netoks, all o tem elavely eual size and eeoe doomedto extintion eoe eing ale to ea any o te geat gals tatte movement ad set itsel. t te timeat is, eoe Pasteu admade imsel neessay to te ygienistsone ting was etain: tedotine o ontagiousness was inadeuate to ulll e ygienistsgoals.

The Movement of Hygene Left to Itself

To speak o ygiene was aleady to take up a position. t was to goak. t was to to distinguis etospetively wat a een intentionally onused. o ty to see wat te ygienists would aveeen eoe tey eame losely involved in Pasteuism was, as itwee, to set a pyamid tat ad een standing on its point ak onits ase Tolstoy was igt ee, too. od may move a mountain;a single man annot. , teeoe, we say o a man tat e as oved

a mountain, it is eause e as een edited wit (o as appopiated) te wok o te owd tat e laimed to ommand ut tat


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e also followed An enomous soal movement an toug tesoal ody n ode to onstut levatan n su a way tat tould povde selte fo te new uan masss Te ygensts used

ts movement to attak dsease on evey sde o, n te language,to at "on te patogen terrain Te Pasteuans, wo numeed,let us not foget, no moe tan a few dozen men at st, set out ntun to det and to tanslate te ygenst movement n Fane, teesult was su tat te ygenst movement ame to e dentedwt te man Pasteu, and ultmately, followng a vey Fen at,te man Pasteu as edued t te deas of Pasteu, and s deas

to te "teoetal foundatons n te end, ten, wat emegedwas tat nveted wold stgmatzedy Tolstoy: a man moves a moun-tan y s genus alone

Te st people to undego s evesal wee e eades of teReve ientique deed, t s almost mpossle to dse a "puegenst movement ompletely sepaate fom te expsson gven ty te Pasteuans Howeve, even at te ost of a ton, t s ual

to edsove, at least n magnaton, te owds movng te moun-tan, so ta we an undestand late ow te Pasteuans ame to ete spokesmen and wee egaded as te "ause of te movementWee would te ygenst movement av gon wtout Pasteu ands followes? n ts own detn Wtout te moe, wtoutvane, even wtout te dotne of ontagon o te vaaton nvulene, eveytng tat was done ould ave een done: leanng

up te towns; dggng dans; demandng unnng wate, lgt, a,and eat Pettenkoffe, wo swallowed olea all wtou e-omng ll ut made Mun a ealty ty toug lagesale pulwoks, s fo eveyone te eponym of ts atttude n stoy ene'ses miins e a um w ontasts Hyg, t ealtyFen town, wt Noson, te unealty "Boe town, wtout teslgtest menton of a moe, s te lteay ountepat of Petten-koffe Te fulum povded y ateolog sould not let us fogettat te enomous soal movement was wokng fo tat mxtue ofuansm, onsume poteton eology (as we would sa nowadays),defense of te envonment, and moalzaton summed up y te wodhyiene f we do not estoe te powe ato eteen te soalmovement at wok tougout Euope and te few ateologallaoatoes, we annot undestand te eal ontuton of toselaoatoes, just as we annot undestand wat Kutuzov dd f we

attute to m te ente movement of s amy.Nowee s te dspopoon etween tat ygenst movement


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4 Wr d Pece of Mcrobes

and te small goup of Pasteuans moe lealy seen tan n anatle of 884 on te ygene exton n London. Su extons,w wee feuent at te tme, ng togete, epots te jou-

nalst, sevea faly omplex odes of knowledge, onsttutng nsot wateve may ende lfe ealty and even omfotale (Anon.:884, p. 86) ee wee tastngs of Leg soups (eman em-sty), efgeated meat (Bts temodynams), and pasteuzedmlk (Fen moology). People admed ygen lotes, otoped soes, lgtooed funtue tat ould e dusted easly,ltes to pufy wate, dets to was one's end, and usng sys-tems to evauate exement Plans wee dsussed fo danage, ven-tlatos, wndows, eatng appaatusesanytng tat would allowte fou elements to ulate feely ee wee lfeszed models ofygentat s, ay and leanouses, osptals, amulanes,stetes, ematoums, lassooms, and even desks.

Bateology was need pesent n te exton, n an nteestngway. To egn, t was dsesed tougout seveal setons: teCameland lte, fom Pasteu's laoatoy, was plaed n te sees

f ltes poposed y ndustalsts pasteuzed lk was pat of tenew mlk ut te nuato, devng fom te expements ofKo, Wolugel, and Pettenkoffe n Geman, and Valln n Fane,ad een eveloped y ndustalsts and was pat of te legal ds-nfeton depatments, ea of w ad ts own stand. Dsnfetantsalso ad te plae: e uent olea epdem as gven newvgo to te study of dsnfetants, a study tat so fa as gven fa

fom satsfatoy esults and n w we wll now ave to take geateaount of te pysologal and mod popetes of te speogansms of ontagous dseases (p 4) To take geate aountotat says eveytng Te poduts of ateology wee addedto ygene lke some spe tat neased ts loal eetveness.

But ts sene was pesent n anote way, too: n te mddleof te man oom ae found te ojets sent y M Pasteu, y te

laoatoy at Montsous un y Muel, a moologst, and ye munpal emsty laoatoy of te ty of Pas. Te auto,of ouse, tes to edue te wole of te exton to ts seton,eause e s a sentst and a natonalst Ts laoatoy, e wtes,as made many people say wat as een sad aloud y an Amean:Tee was moe ygene n te Fen seton tan n te est of teeton put togete' (p ) Ts patotsm ad ateo-entsm ae onoale enoug, ut tey ontadt te wole of te


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atle. Pasteus laoatoy was only one among many otes, andt was suouded y te exts of nnumeale ndustalsts, e-fomes, leagues fo te popagaton of ts o tat, pofessons, andsklls. It ould not e edued to tat polfeaton of exts, utnete ould te ente exton e edued to te laoatoy.

To eonstut Pasteusm, t as to e sad, even wt a etandegee of exaggeaton, tat wat te ygenst movement dd wtPasteu t would ave done anyway wtout m. It would ave madete envonment ealte. Te vague wods "ontaon, "masma,and even "dt wee enoug to put Euope n a state of sege, and

t defended tself y odons santaes aganst te nfetous dseases.f ouse, tele dseases got toug te odons, ut sometmestee wee vtoes, and tat was no small aevement Ts way ofsolatng ygene and tyng to dsove wee t was gong on ts ownwas not so atay, sne, afte all, tee s stll a good deal ofotovesy aout te auses of te emaale mpovement n teealt of Euopeas etween 171 and 190. Te mpovement s

stll eng attuted to new auses an new agents weneve a newgoup sets out to weaken te poston of medne o te ole of senen medne o to edstute n a dffeent way te espetve olesof teapy and peventon. Te geneal se n te standads of lvngand nutton, omned wt "elementay ygene, would enougfo some to explan most of te astonsng teapeut suesses tatte Pasteuans ad attuted to te sene founded y Pasteu.

Even f ts ont does not onen us ee, one tng s lea Its te ygenst movement tat dened wat was at stake, pesedte ams, posed te plems, demanded tat otes sould solvetem, dstuted pase o lame, and lad down potes It s alsote ygenst movement tat galvaned people's eneges, foun temoney, and offeed tose wo seved t toops, goals, polems, andenegy. Ts s a ual pont, fo t allows us to exat fom temag le of "sene mu of wat we ate stly all "tsontets. Te sujets tat ae studed and te polems tat aegven poty make up, as we know, most of a dsplne. Te Pas-teuans wee to ave on te sene lke playes n a game of Sale.Te "tple wods ad "doule wods we aleady maked andlad down Te Pasteuans tanslated tese stakes and ules nto teown tems, ut wtout te ygensts, t s lea tat ve lttle wouldave een ead aout tem. Te Pasteuans would ave done some-

tng else


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If tat penimate sentene seems dios, we ave ony to readte Britis or Amerian istories of te period Baterioogy, om-mon in tese works, is far from eing te sore and ase of ygien;it is merey a rippe on te srfae, an aspet, dotess a riaspport o soia ygiene, t no more tan tat. In tese istoriesPaster imsef is merey one aterioogist among oters, and teyempasize not so m Paster's ideas as ertain pratia appiationsonsidered y te ators to e partiary impotant, s as met-ods of tre, ination, and inoation

The Hygienists eiee Pasteur without Question

Te Revue cieique reveas rst of a te size f te soia move-ment for regeneration, indiates te transator of tis movement, y-giene, and sows ow nertain and ontroversia te ygienists wereIt aso sows, t ess eary, te disproportion tat existed etweente ygienists and te Pasterians. Finay, stdy of te Revue expains

wy it is so dift to deide ow m sod e attrited to eagrop, or even to avoid te impression of a revotionI we rea te way in wi ifferent ators ae Paster wen

ey egin to tak aot im in te eary 880s, we are strk y oneoverweming fat tey do not arge over im; tey trst im en-tirey. We may of orse attrite tis trst to te aity of teevidene proded y Paster, to te efay of te treatments pro-

osedin sort, to te trt of Pasterian siene. Bt tis is iteimpossie, rst ease, wen oters were presente wit te sameevidene, it was regarded as disputae and seond ease te trstaorded to Paster was so great tat it mst ave een ased onsometing ese. If we onvine someone of someting, we mst sarete efay of tat onvition wit te person wom we ave on-vined. Bt if someone ates on at one, takes over wat we avesaid, and immediatey generaizes it, expands it, and appies it to oertins tan tose we originay ad in mind, ten we mst attritea greer efa to te person wo as nderstood tan to te onewo as een nderstood. For Paster's argments in te Revue cieique were not exposed to sarasm and dot; tey were seized onavidy and extrapoate we eyond te few reslts tat e imsefas defending Te avidity of tose wo seized on wat e said givess some idea of te extent of e soia movement wose ain otines

I ave een traing. Let s ook at it more osey


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Srog Mcrobes d Wek Hgess 7

In 171 Chavea writes in the Revue on the contagios diseases"We are already pressing forward, overtaking one another on theroad that leads to the mos sef conests of modern science (171p 362) In 176 wel efore the rst stdies on raies, Tyndal con-sders that the revoltion carried ot y Paster is already mplee"It is only a estion of time His condence is sch that e looksto the ftre "with the interest of a man who sees a principle spreadingand ecoming estaished that is destined o deiver medicine fromthe reproach of empiricism, to raise it to the rank of a tre science,and to deliver to the doctors those invisile enemies, as the celerated

Cohn caed tem, who hide in the air we reathe and the water wedrink He adds "I dot whether in ten years from now there willremain in England a single doctor wiling to spport the ideas thatthey thoght t to advance against Paster in denying contagion](76 p 560) The year 16 was not a ad prediction Bt Tyndaldid not have to e a prophet to propse sch a date It was a matterof elementary technologica forecasting on the asis of a research

program that had aready ee initiated; al that had to e done wasto wait and pick the fritThe British were of corse more advanced than the French, t

Paster's compatriots were not lagging ehind Even the prdent Bo-chardat did not hesitate to write on the sject of the page that itwod e necessary "to isolate and ctivate the microorganism asPaster wod have done (179 p 91 Richet, editor of the Revue

and a convinced Pasterian, spported in 10 the project for a na-tional award for Paster, "so that onsier Paster may give to hisresearches into the contagios diseases of animas a the developmentsit ptenialy has (10 p 35)

This was witten in 10 How cold Richet know how manydeveopments the few laoratory cases wold have? If someone eta token and someone ese immediatey et a hndred, how are we tondersta the condence of the second ettor? The prodigios de-veopments given y Richet and his peers to what Paster was pro-posing mst e attrited to hem They knew that they were goingto ampf these propositions with their own fter PoiyeFort,Rihet extends the efcacy of the vaccine withot the shado of adot: "nthrax wil soon e a thing of the past ( 11 p. 161) er the cre of Joseph eiser aone, Richet exclaims "nd nowthat e can cre raies, we have only to expand and faciiate the

treatment (16 p 29). The year efre, Landozy exclaims "Yes,


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W d Pece of Mcoes

getleme, te day wll come we, taks to mltat, scetc y-gee, dseases wll dsappea as ceta atedluva amal specesave dsappeaed (1885, p 107)

Yet o dsease ad dsappeaed Te codece te "way laddow b asteu must teefoe deve fom sometg ote tate facts, ad facs Te codece was ot oe tat came oly omPasteu, but oe tat owed back o to Pasteu ad wc e madefull use of e Pasteu f te Revue ieique was ot a obscueeo wo was gtg aloe agast all ad wo ad to covce semedably septcal advesaes step by step (ValleyRadot: 1911 )

No, e ad oly to ope s mout, ad otes would tu s esultsto geealzatos about evey dsease A pecula evoluto deedTo be sue, oce Rcet became ts edto, te Revue was o asteussde ad defedd m "beyod te lmt of all scetc pudece,oe mgt say e a tmd callege s ased, Rcet, s akguad, wtes wt codesceso: "It s o bad tg f a dscodatvoce s ased amd a cocet of pae Peaps t wll ecouage M

Pasteu to povde us wt a few ew dscovees as futful as tepevous oes (1882, p 449Tat te Revue ad all ts autos sould be so patal, so cau-

vstc, so mpudet, sows te extet to wc tust was placed Pasteu, exactly as moey s placed a tust fud Te eade mustow udestad tat, f te ygest movemet ad ot bee pe-seted st, t would ave bee ecessay to attbute a "podgous

efcacy to te expemets of Pasteu mself Geeally "sceces eve to be explaed by tself It s a llcomposed ett wcexcludes most of te elemets tat allow t to exst Te socal move-met to wc Pasteu seted mself s a lage pat of te efcacyattbuted to Pasteus demostatos

Eve te Pasteuas wo wee most etemed to spead te mytof a Pasteu stugglg aloe agast te sades of obscuatsm aefoced to ecogze te uamty wt wc s expemets weeeceved Bouley, fo example, wtes "Befoe suc esults [at Poully-eFot], tee was o loge ay oom fo doubt, eve o te patof s most toouggog oppoets, wo wee compeld to fallslet, ad te covctos acued wee mmedately expessed bya sot of avdty fo ts ew vacce de te potecto of wcte fams of ataxdde egos wee mpatet to place telocks ad eds Bouley adds "Justce s ofe slow comg fo

vetos, ofte ts pogess s so lmpg tat e lves ae ot log


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Sro Mcrobes Wek Hgess 9

enogh fo them to see it done M Paste, 1 an now name him, haseen pivileged enogh to see it aeleated in his ase (1881, p549) It shold e said that in Paste's ase jstie got aied away,sine it soon attited to him what he did not i fat do and paidhim the homage of the entie hygienist movement A olmnis, poaly Rihet, wites: "It is often diflt fo ontempoaies to dgethe enomos pogess that is eing made and to have an opinion ofa een disovey that will e onmed y posteity Hoeve, wehave, in saely a few months, witnessed the lossoming of a geatdisovey, jdged as sh and on the impotane of whih thee has

een nanimity (Anon: 1881, p 129).

n a Few Dssentes: Koch and Pete

othing demonstates ette the nanimity of the owds that fol-lowed Paste and seized on his eslts than the few people who hadwhat might e alled the oage to oppose them Althogh opponents

wee nmeos enogh in the Aadmie de Mdeine, whee Pastesoght them ot with a violent hetoi, thee wee only two in theRevue Pete, the oldfashioned Fenh physiian, and Koh, themodenminded Geman physiian Althogh these men wee en-tiely opposed i thei eliefs, they had the same itiism of Paste:he genealized too hastily on the asis of a few inadeately laiedases

Pete has een desied as an osantist ffoon, t he wasthe only one to pt p any kind of a ght against Paste's medialop d'tat Pete foght against the "mioi fia, against whatseemed to him to e a "toent, even "an intelletal holea againstwhih sanitay meases mst also e taken nd "that is why, headds, "I am fo esistane It was he who was esisting an invasion,not the Pasteians, who wee esisting the foes of dakness

Contay to what is sally said, Pete's agment is well fondedIn 1882 he estions whethe simpl lkig at the sheep vainatedat PoillyleFot an show that thee is a geerl method, applialeto ll infetios diseases He alls this a "hasty genealizatio Nodoes he want to pt an end to disssion y heoiizing Paste Atthe Aadmie he ies ot: "As fo the tem wondefl' that yo seto desie the expeiment o PoillyleFot, it is no longe an apol-ogia, t an atoapotheosis and 1 do not wish to have any pat inthat (1883: pp 558, 560)


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r d Pece of Mcrobes

How can one deny tat e is rigt re Peter does not want totrn a scientic experiment into a miraclos, divine evet and to beextended itot proof to every disease Was not scientic metodon is side? And yet e was wrong, if not for te reason we migttink. He imagined tat e was gting against a scientist, werease was gting against someone wo was already te spokesman, tegreead, and te amplier of an immense social movement tatpassionately wanted Paster to be rigt and terefore made sre tatall is laboratory work proceeded wit a "aste and a "widespreadapplication at were trl "prodigios. Peter claimed tat te king

was naked, bt oters rsed p to clote im Peter fogt bravely,bt e miscalclated te balance of forces and was terefore to sinkinto ridicle.

Koc did not sare te same weaknesses, and e attacked Pasterfar from Pari an on te terrain of te new scientic medicine. Btis criticisms intersect wit ose f te "backwardlooking PeterPastr, Koc claims, generaized mc too ickly: "M Paster ad

already given imsl p to te most ambitios opes. Wit ttercondence e annonced a fortcoming trimp in te sggle againstinfectios diseases ( 1883 , p. 65)

Koc nds all tis prematre. Te tecnical objections e raisesgive s some idea of ow anxios everyone was to agree wit Paster.We cannot, Koc claims, generalize from one animal to anoter, norfrom animal to man, nor from one disease to anoter, nor from te

vaccination of a few individals to tat of all individals. Koc callenges Paster to sow te complete stock on wic is credited tegeneral metod tat is abot to eliminate all diseases and revoltionizemedicine No one can deny tat in 1881 tis stock was extremelylimited. Te immense trst in Paster derived partly fro te worktat e ad done before 1871, wic did not cncern infectios diseases, and partly from te social movement tat needed tese discoveries bt went well beyond em witot waiting for tem to bemade. In order to create networks of sanitation and to increase tecirclation of gods and people, general laws as well as safe roadswere needed. Koc's precations weakened and interrpted te networks tat te ygienists wanted to extend and stregten. e ygienists cared noting for ocs precations Teir trst went entirelyto te man wo was ennating a general law and a principle oindenite extension of te networks tat tey were going to command.

Te crities by Peter and Koc force s to see te disproportion


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etween te foes tat sppoted te geneaizations of te Pasteians and te santy poof tat tey od povide at te time. If Iinsist on tis point, it is ease te istoy of te sienes is sedomjst to te defeated o even, fo tat matte, to te vitos. It aodstoo m attention to te atte and not enog to te fome Ajste appoa wod e to teat ot vitos and defeated sym-metrilly Wen Riet wites in te Revue in 1886 aot te sggestion made to te Aadmie to set p te Institt Paste"eae asse tat to popose a vaina estasment is aeady toannone its eation (1886, p. 289)we mst ndestand wat e

says as antopoogists, fo it is itte moe tan a magia invoationHe is wiing to and Paste te eys of te Institt simpy y sggesting its possiiity A enty ate Cangiem, a Fen istoianof siene, takes p te same inantation wen e wites aot temoire of Pase on te teoy of gems: "Tis teoy, wi aeady aied witin itsef, tog te wok of Ko and Paste,te pomise, wi was to e fed, of e and sviva fo miions

of men and animas to ome, aso ogt wit it te deat of a temedia teoes of te nineteent enty (1977, p. 63).We mst anayze tese eiefs in te powe of wat is in gem i

the sme terms as wen Ko, popsing a vaine against teosis at t Intenationa Congess of Medeine in 1896, is esieged patients fom a ove Eope possessed of te ope of eing edRiet's onene is made p of te same "ediiity as te "e

dity of te patients Te fat tat Paste ad indeed fnded isInstitt, weeas Ko ad to witdaw is vaine in onfsion,sod not misead s. In ot ases Ko and Paste wee sstainey a wave of tst, wi tey sed a m as te patients sedtem

There Was a Trator aong s

So te ygienists tansated tis geat onit etween weat aneat, witot wi tei views wod ave inteested noody Btease tey ated in evey dietion, tei vews emained in dispteand wee itte oeyed Tei vaios pojets of sanitation wee onstanty intepted y wat seemed to tem to e te i wi of oteagents. Tey attite a tese divesions and deeeations to teekinds of i wist, to inetia on te pat of te pi atoities,

wo did not do wat tey gt to do; seond, to wat we wod


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now all the "soiologial esistane of the masses, ignoant of theiown inteess; and last, to those diseases that appea and disappea,whose unwothy ehavio is alled "moid spontaneity n fat,these thee kinds of esistane wee onneted. The hygienists' inaility to pevent the outeak of disease justied in advane the inetiaof othes n ode to moilize the puli authoities and, indietly,the inet masses, they needed to e ale to dive a sanitized paththough the ities that no agent ould inteupt o divet Bu thiswas neve the ase

A salesman sends a pefetly lea ee to a ustomeit aivesoupted A doto assists a woman to give ith to a ne eightpound ayit dies shotly aftewad. A mothe gives pefetly puemilk to an infantit dies of typhoid feve. An administato egulatesthe jouney of Mooan pilgims to Meaholea etuns withthe santied pilgims and eaks out st at Tangies, then at Maseille. A homemake takes on a Beton gil to help the ooaftea few months the ook dies of galloping onsumption. We always

think we ae doing the ight thing, ut ou ations neve tun out aswe expeted and ae slightly diveted fom thei aim. The tiunalpunishes a iminal with one ye's impisonment, ut he pays fohis ief spell in the ell with his life When a man follows a womanto he hotel, he thinks he is settling the tansation with a oin andends his days in an asylum This displaement of the estintentionedations is tuly disouaging: "Fo what do is not the good want

t do no, the evil do not want to dothis keep on doing (Rom7:19)But the situation is even moe disouaging in that this distotion

does not always ou A lot of ee aives intat at the etailesmany of those who feuent whoes do not eome syphilitis manymidwives do not kill thei lients' aies. t is peisely this vaiationthat is distuing. t is the impossiilit of pediting the intevention,

the paasitism, of othe foes that makes the emedies and statistisf the hygienists oth so metiulous and so disouaging. Sometimesholea passes, sometimes nt sometimes tphus suvives, sometimesnot. ndeed, the dotine of "moid spontaneity was the only eallyedile one Between the at and the intention is a erium qud thatdivets and oupts them, ut it is not always pesent, and we annotaptue it without taking eveything into aount at one: the heavens,weathe, moals, limate, appetites, moods, degees of wealth, andfotune.


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Sog Mcobes ad Weak Hgess

Ts orrupto of te est tetos, a orrupto tat was ate more dsturg tat t dd ot aways our, ad oe serousoveee It eouraged skeptsm Steps oud e take, ofourse, ut agast wat? Agas everytg at oe, ut wt oertaty of suess It was dfut to arouse etusasm ad sustaodee programs of reform ad satato tat a rested ots ostat ostat: "Cofroted y ts peroday reurrgfataty, we remaed poweress, uarmed, ad, as te poet as t,weary of a, eve of ope' (Bouey 1881 p 549).

Te skeptsm ed stragt to fatasm Ideed, ts orrupto of

tetos ad atogeter too mu te arater of te "orruptoof ts word for t ot to e see as evtae Lfe ad good eatwere mraes, ad eter te ygests or te dotors ad muto do wt tem Tey mgt ws to satze ad reform, ut t wasdfut to ove te pu ad te pu autortes to veseormous sums of moey over deades f te smpest programs oude etrayed y a sort of ft oum tat udermed tem from

t We a see te paradox of te ygest movemet: o teoe ad, t was a soa movemet of ggat roportos tatdeared tsef ready to take arge of everytg, ad o te otr,t as a suesso of measures tat were eg uety udermedy ukow ad erat agets As a resut, te perod sowed keeterest detfyg te orruptg fores, te doue agets, temasmas ad otagos, ad aorded mmedate trust to tose wo

mgt, detfyg tem, e ae to take measures agast tem Itwas at ts prese pot tat te mroe ad te reveaer of mroesappeared

Betwe te eer ad te rewer tere was sometg tat some-tmes ated ad sometmes dd ot A tertium qd "a yeast, sadte reveaer of mroes We you sed out te eer, you sed outte arre, te ud, te devery doumets, d te yeast (Tyda:

1877 pp 789800). We you rg a woma to rt, you tkyou are te presee of tree agetste mdwfe, e ay, adte moert a fourt takes advatage of te stuato to passfrom your ads to te woma's wouds Your terest s te fe ofte woma, ut te terest of tat fourt aget s dfferet It usesyour terest to arry out ts ow It proferates; te woma des;you ose a et (Duaux: 1879, pp 629635). You orgaze ademostrato of Eskmos te museum Tey go out to meet tepu, ut tey meet oera ad de Ts s very aoyg,


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War ad Peae of Mrobes

ecause a you wanted to do was to sow tem and not to ki tem(Anon. 1881, pp. 372377) Taving wit co's mik is anote

anima tat is not domesticated, te tuecuose acius, and it sipsin wit you wis to feed you cid. Its aims ae so diffeent fomyous tat you cid dies

In ode to undestand wat constituted Pasteuis up to te endof te centuy, we must undestand wat te Pasteuians, few innume, offed te ygienists. Woking in few aoatoies, teyponounced wods tat wee immediatey egaded as tutfu andwee integated into evidence tat at ast aowed te ygienist movement to get on wit its wok Te ygienists wee not "ceduous.Tey expeed someting impotant fom Pasteuism, sometng evenme impotant in tat tey ad een so disappointed efoe andwee now sustained y a wide socia movement e sma goup ofPasteuian eseaces ceated neite edicine, no te uge odyof teoies on te causes of epidemics, no te statistics, no tedetemination of te scia ody to sanitize and emode itsef, no

even te apid undestanding y otes of wat tey said. Yet teyadded someting of tei own, someting tat seemed essentia totose wo adopted it in ode to pusue tei own pojects of sanitation.

If we coud g ack to tis impossie state of ygiene beforePasteu came to e cedited wit te woe movement, is contiution migt e dened as tat of a fucum Te Pasteuians povided

neite te eve no te weigt no even te woke wo did tewok, ut tey povided te ygienists wit a fucum. To use anotemetapo, tey wee ike te st osevation aoons Tey madete enemy visie Witout epacing te amies, te attes, o evente commanding fces, tey indicated o diected te ows Teywee ot noing and eveyting. Ducaux, speaking of te sugeonswo wee te st to adopt Pasteuism, puts it we: "Sugeons ave

ong poved tat tey ave te noe amition of doing good, wateve toue it takes tem, and tey ony ad to e sown we teeemy was fo tem to ean to us at tose innitey sma eneiestat ad so often oed tem of tei success and goy and tat itwas to e te ono of ou centuy to ave eaned to know and toconfont (1879, p 635) Te Pasteuians wee to dispace (o tansate) te intentions of te ygienists y adopting tei pojects, wieadding to tem an eement at woud srehe ot te ygienistsand te Pasteuians.


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Thee Ae Moe of s Than We Thought

We do not know wo ae te agents wo make p ou wod We

must egin wit tis unetainty if we ae to undestand ow, ittey tte, te agents dened one anote, summonig ote agents andattiuting to tem intentions and stategies Tis ue of metod isespeiay impotant wen we ae studying a peiod wen te numeof agents was suddeny mutipied y miions Wat stuk a teautos of te Revue may e summed up in te sentene "Te aemoe of us tan we tougt Wen we speak of men, soieties,

utue, and ojets, tee ae eveyee owds of ote agents tatat, pusue aims unknown to us, and se us to pospe We ayinspet pue wate, mik, ands, utains, sputum, te ai we eate,and see notng suspet, ut miions of ote individuas ae movingaound tat we annot see

"Ignoing te dange of te mioe awaiting us, we ave itetoaanged ou way of ife witout taking any aount of tis unknown

enemy Ledu: 1892, p 234) Eveyting is in tat sentene Teeae not ony "soia eations, eations etween man and man So-iety is not made up just of men, fo eveywe mioes intevenean at We ae in te pesene not just of an Eskio and an an-topoogist, a fate and is id, a midwife and e ient, a pos-titute and e ient, a pigim and is God, not fogetting Moammedis popet In a tese eations, tese oneonone onfontations,

tese dues, tese ontats, ote agents ae pesent, ating, exang-ing tei ontats, imposing tei aims, and edenng te soia ondin a diffeent way Coea is no espete of Mea, ut it entes teintestine of te adji te gas aius as noting against te womanin iit, ut it euies tat se die In te midst of soaed"soia eations, tey ot fom aianes tat ompiate toseeations in a teie way.

I am not using te wod "agent in any metapoia o ioniasense ut in te semioti sense. Indeed, te soia ink is made up,aoding to t asteuians, of tose wo ing en togete andose wo ing te mioes togte We annot fom soiety witte soia aone We ave to add te ation o mioes We annotundestand anyting aout Pasteuism if we do not eaize tat it aseoganized soiety in a diffeent way It is not tat tee is a sienedone in te aoatoy, o te one and, and a soiet made up of

goups, asses, inteests, and aws, on te ote Te issue is at one


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mu more simple and mu more diult To make up soiey witonly soial onnetions, omitting te invisiles, is to end up witgeneral orruption, a perverse deviation o good uman intentionsIn order to at eetively etween mentat is, to go to Mea, tosurvive in te Congo, to ring ne, ealty ildren to irt, to getmay regimentswe ave to "make room or miroes As Leduputs it "Siene egan te enslavement o te ores o nature andplaed at te servie o modern soieties workers in iron and re morepowerul tan all te slaves o te anient world But no sieneimposes as ygiene does interdependene on uman soietis; od

we know tat it is more or less impossile to enet rom te goodtings tat it ofers i we do not extend tem to our neigors; inoter words, individual ygiene is losely dependent on puli ygiene; a single unealty ouse in a town is a perpetual treat o allits inaitants i we are to give tose good tings to one, ygienereuires tat tey e extended to ll (1892, p 233).

Wit wat does Ledu make up is world? Wit "siene, wit

iron and re maines, wit enslaved ores, ut also wit onagiousdiseases Te juridial "soial link is weak, ut tat wi links allmen togeter y a disease is mu stronger So wat an we say aoutte juridial link redened y te ygienist tat must at everweein order to make te wole soial ody interdependent?

Te Pasteurians redened teir numers, wi little regard to wetersome elonge to nature and oters "to ulure, as te expression

used to e Wat inteests tem is weter tey an e enslaved andwat new ores an e reated wit tese strange allies Armangaud,or instane, ors an odd alliane wit te miroes "In our struggleagainst ptisis we ave at our dispoal an element o suess tatis largely laking in te struggle gainst sroula and te loal tueruloses it is te motive derived rom personal interest, te ontagiotat makes us all interdependent upon one anoter, te ri as wellas

te poor, te strog as well as te weak (1893, p 37).Armaingaud, a rater paternalisti reormist, uses te miroe toredene tat elerated "selinterest and to lin everyody togetetroug ear o disase Tis unexpeted strengtening is not in itsel"reaionary, as suggeted y some autors wo are used to speakingonly o powr and wo see ygiene as a "eans o soial ontrolTe allies o te miroe are to e ound on te let as well as on terigt At te time o te


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Srog crobes d Wek Hgess 7

York, Ger wrtes "Later we sha see that the stud o otagousorgasms, whh must e at te set ase o hgee, a admust rg osderae assstae to those who, dg that a s

ot or the est the est o a posse words, are trg to mprovethe wrethed odto o the dsherted He speaks o "asss-tae He, ke a vugar Marxst, attahes ateroog to the assstrugge "The wrethedess o the poor dsts a tter ad vruete that reahes as ar as the rh ma's goet ad otamates theves o hs hdre (1893, p 722). The poor ma have o rghts,ut the otagous poor a ow up the whoe outt What s reused

to oe aot e reused to the other he ass strgge ma estemmed at oe pt, o to reappear at aother through otagoRosekra shows the ase o smar reorms the Uted Statesthe mposst o teg whether the served the rght or the eeause the mroe redered upredtae terests that woud etoo predtae wthout t

No oe, toard the ed o the etur, oud do wthout otago

oetg me, pats, ad amas I a arte o the roe mroes soet, Capta sums up hs thkg "I have just outed the wa whh pathoge mroes evove so-et Soety a exst, ve, ad survve o thaks to the ostatterveto o mroes, the great deverers o death, ut aso ds-esers o matter (1896, p 292) ga, t s as a athropoogstthat we must oow these ew trasatos o what matters theword Capta dstgushes a deret wa etee what s e-eet ad what s harmu, what s useu ad what s usees, whatats ad what does ot He does ot ase soet o oog, ke avugar otemporar; he redees soet tse, a soet whhthe ew agets tervee ow ad at a pots "We eed the asss-tae o the te sma, wrtes Loe (1885 p 214). Mroesoet us through dseases, ut he aso oet us, through ourtesta ora, to the ver thgs we eat "We a hard dout the

mportae o the roe paed the eoom o the dvdua those tae ompaos that hep t to reak dow orga sustaes (Stererg 1889, p 328).

"Iterdepedee, "assstae, "power, "hep, "tae om-paos I have ot mposed these terms; the a emerge rom thetras o stregth It s the ators that thus redee ther words addede whh must ow e take to aot


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W Pece of Mcobes

From the Science of Society to th Stdy of ssocations

Te atos wom we ae studyng aeady ave many essons to teaus In patua, tey do not wat o te sooogst to dene otem te soety n w tey ve. Tey eoganze sety wtnew atos wo ae not a soa. Sooogsts o te senes otenam to e povdng a pota o soa expanaton o te ontento a sene, su as pyss, matemats, o oogy. But te sooogy o te senes s too oten poweess, eause t tnks t knowswht soety s made up Fatu to ts tadton, t usuay denes

soety as made u o goups, nteests, ntentons, and onts onteest. So we an see wy ts sooogy s so eee wen t ap-poaes te exat senes It tnks t an expan ad dspnesn soa tems, weeas tose dsnes ae amost aways gnaand moe sute eve i thei deiti the scil bd tan so-oogy tse. Sooogsts o senetnk tey ae vey eve eausetey ave expaned hygene n tems o te ass stugge, te n-

astutue, and powe, weeas e agents spke ou guns o usTey go o and ook o new aes to advane te ause and to teyte (o poo), andsng dseases W expans te othe? s te moe nventve?

Te exat senes eude soa anayss not eause tey ae dstanto sepaated om soet, ut eause tey evoutonze te veyonepton o soety and o wat t ompses. Pasteusm s an

admae exampe. Te ew soooga expanatons ae eee ompaed wt te stty soooga maste stoke o te Pasteuansand te ygenst aes, wo smpy eened te soa n ynudng te aton o te moes n t. We annot edue teaton o e moe to a soooga expanaton, sne te atono te moe edened not ony sety ut aso natue and tewoe aoode.

Moes ae eveywee td pates n a eatons, say te Pas-teuans. But ow do we know ts? Toug te Pasteuans tem-seves, toug te etues, te demonstatons, te andooks, teadve, te ates tat tey podued om ts tme. Wo, ten, waste t paty n a tese soa eatons at te tme? Te Pasteuan,o ouse, te eveae o moes Fo wom must we "make oom?Fo mons o omnpesent, ey eete, oten dangeous, andute nvse moes But sne tey ae nvse, we aso ave to


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Srog Mcrobes d Wek Hgess 9

make oom fo te eveae of micoes In edening te social linkas eing made p eveywee of micoes, Pasteians and ygienistsegaine te powe to e pesent eveee. We cannot "explain

tei actions and decisions y "mee poitica motives o inteests(wic in any case wod e vey difct to do.) Tey do so mcmoe. In te geat peaval of late nineteentcenty Eope, teyedene at society is made p of, wo acts and ow, and teyecome te spokesmen fo tese new innmeae, invisile, and dan-geos agents.

Te lesson in sociology tat Pasteians and ygienists give to tei

time (and to socilogists of science) is tat if we wis to otaineconomic and socia elations in te stict sense, we mst st extipatete micoe Bt in ode to extipate te micoe, we mst pace teepesentatives of te ygienists o Pasteians eveywee If we wisto ealize te deam of te socioogists, te economists, te psyco-ogiststat is, to otain eations tat noting wil divetwe mstdivet te micoes so tat tey wi no longe intevene in eations

eveywee Tey and tei ways mst e intepted. Aer te Pas-teians ave invaded sgey, only ten wil te sgeon e aonewit is patient. Afe we ave fond a metod of pasteizing ee,tn te we wil e ae to ave notig t economic eationswit is cstomes. Afte we ave steilized milk y speadintogot al fams metods of pasteization, ten we wi e aeto feed o infant in a pe oving eationsip. Sees descies tis

elimination of a paasite y anote moe powef one. ny aftete inslation of te second paasite can we declae oseves safefom te st. At te cost of setting p new pofessions, instittions,laoatois, and skils at all points, e wi otain popely sepaatedcannes of micoes, on te one and, and of pilgims, ee, milk,wine, soolcilden, and sodies, on te ote.

To explain acteioogy is not, ten, to edce Paste to te po-sition of a socia gop n te contay, it is to folow te essontat acteioogy and ygiene gave to al te socioogies of te peiod."Yo togt yo cold do witot te micoe. Yet te micoe isan essential acto t wo knows it? We, only we in o laoatoies.So yo mst take s into accont and go tog o aoatoies ifyo ae to solve te olems of society. In ode to ndestand tispoint of view, we mst ememe tat te peiod was f of peoplewo ned temseves into te spokesmen fo dangeos, osce


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focs tat must now e taken into account. Te ygienists wee notalon i inventing new foces. Tee wee tose wo manipulated tefaiy electicity, tose wo set up leagues fo coloniation, fo e

development of gymnastic clus, o fo pomotion of te telepone,adio, o Xays. Te adical paty, fo instance, gained gound eveywee y focing te taditional agents of e social game to takeaccount of te dangeous laoing asses, wose actions and intentions wee so little known. Bt it is wit Feud tat te esemlanceis geatest. Like Feud, Pasteu found teasue, not in te paapaxesand ties of eveda e t in decay and efse. Bot announced

tat tey wee speaking in te name of invisile, ejected, teily dangeous foces tat must e listened to if civiliation was not tollapse. Like te psycoanalysts, te Pasteuians set temselves upas exclusive intepetes of populations to wic no one else adaccess.

It does not matte tat asteu developed an exact science, tat teadical paty occupied a gowing place in paliament, and tat Feuddeveloped a science tat is still contovesial. It does not matte tatsome dene uman actos and ots dene nonuman agents. Sucdistinctions ae less impotant an te attiution of meaning andte constuction of te spokesmen wo expess, fo otes enet,wat is eing said y te unconscious, te aies vius, o te pintwoke. Suc distinctions among types of actos matte less tan tefact tat tey ae all enegotiating wat te wold is made up of, wois acting in it, wo mattes, and wo wants wat. Tey ae all ce

atingtis is te impotant point-ew surces of powe and newsouces of legitimacy, wic ae ieducile to tse tat itetocoded te socalled political space. Tey cannot e educed to a "socialo political explanation, since tey ae enewing te political gamefom top to ottom wit new foces. If sociology wises to tescience of "social facts, ten it cannot undestand tis peiod. Itteey limits itself to te puely social, weeas all e actos ae

dityin t wit someting else. Moe seiously, sociology emadeaf to t essons of te actos temselves. If we wis to lean fomtis lesson and still call ouselves sociologists, we must edene tisscience, not as te science of te social, ut as te science of as-tions. We cannot say of tese associations wete tey ae umano natual, made up of micoes o suplus value, ut only tat teyae srg o we


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How to Becoe Indsputable

We egin t undestand te genea pess f tansatin fund in

te Rvu intiqu"We want t sanitize, say te ygienists, expessing in tei wnway te fs f te pei and te nits etween weat andeat

"A yu gd intentins ae diveted, nfused, paaitized, saytei enemies.

"Tis paasite tat divets and nfuses u wises, we see it and

eveal it, we make it speak and tame it, say te Pastuians."If we adpt wat te Pasteuians say, seizing te paasite wit itsand in te ag, we an ten g as fa as we wis, say te ygienists."Nting wil e ae t divet u pjets and eaken u pgamsf sanitizatin.

In speading te ntin f te Pasteuians as eeaes f mieste ygienists, w aimed t e te legislats f eat, spead

temseves By genealizing t te Pasteuian and te ygienisteveywee, e desie get i was n nge twated Te nitetween ealt and wealt was eslved t te enet f te latte

As MNeill suggests wen disussing te mieniumng stuggleetween te mipaasites and te maaasites, a stuggle tatseems t im t e te mtive fe f isty, te sale is tuned infav f te mapaasites Te i and te empies wi at aste ale t spead Hitet, espeiay in te tpis, tey ud neveg vey fa. Tei st faitfu fattems sn died. Nw, weevete Pasteuians and ygienists gained gun, te mipaasites lstgund. e an see wy ndy, even day, an seiusy questinte ntiutin f ateilgy. Indeed, all inins speak wit tesame vie, and eveydy wks tgete t attak te mipaasites expites, explited, enefats f mankind, meants, teegy, and ave al te dts, te ygienists, te amy media

ps, an at te end f te paasitial ain, te Pasteuians. Teny ses in a tis ae te mies. Sine n uman eing anwis defend tem, te geneal tansfmatin f twns in tenineteent entu tug te eiminatin f mies is indisput

ale.Te assemage f fes tat I am tying t enstut migt e

nfuse wit te na mpessin given y tis assemage if it wee

nt f a etain distintin Mies migt ave een disved,


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War ad Peace of Mcrobes

t wit no esponsiiity fo is disovey eing attited to Pas-te Afte a, in poitis, ingatitde is moe ommon tan gatitdeTs, two meanisms mst e distingised Te st sets p te

foes one on top of te ote and enaes s to expain ow a woepeiod is inteested (nds itsef inteested) in wat is appening inPaste's aoatoy; te seond meanism attte esponsiiityfo te ommand to one meme in te owd Wen Tostoy expainste Rssian ampaign, e desies te st meanism, t e is weawae tat te seond is onstted diffeenty, sine te manevsae attited to "Napoeon's genis and "Ktzov's genis Te

same goes fo ateioogy Wat a te pimay meanism sowsow ateioogy got into t end of te paasitia ain and fonditsef ae to expess a woe eio Bt te seonday meanismattites te woe of te sanitationa evotion of te peiod toPaste's genis Te pimay meanism desies te aianes andmakep o te foes, weeas te seond expains wy te foesae mixed togete nde a name tat epesents tem Te st denes

te "tias of stengt; te seond enaes s to expain wat "po-teny is made p ofTis is not a mino point, fo it eps s to expain two vey diffeent

tings: st, ow te yienists o Pasteians pt temseves in aposition to tansate te foes tat needed tem and, seond, owtey initiated an investigation to dene wo was esponsie fo temovement as a woe ave said tat te sift took pae onyto tansation Bt tis tansation is aways a misndestandingin wi ot eements ay diffeent ets ne te sift as eenmade, it is ia to deide wo was timatey te ase of tistansation Fo instane, it is amost etain tat te Engis ate-ioogists aanged tei aoatoies in te same way as te Fenioogsts So te pimay meanism was te same Bt it was onyin Fane tat esponsiiity was attited entiey to ateioogy,wi was epted to e te wok of a singe man, Paste

Tis distintion etween te two meanisms is an essentia one,ease te stategies tat it impemented wee ite diffeent andod vay in te same atie Fo exampe, Riet, speaking of teantidipteia sem, ends: "t may e astonising tat ave notseen t to mention te geat name of Paste Bt wat is te point?o we not know tat evey disovey in te domain of ateioogyemanates diety fom M Paste, jst as evey disovey in emisty

emanates fom Lavoisie? ( 1895, p 69). Potins imsef wod not


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ave endowed s God wt enoug power to make te antdpteraserum (to w Pasteur te man ardy

Latour, B. The pasteurization of France.pdf

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